Celebrity Mound

The Oscar-winning actress – who split from the 35-year-old model last April after almost five years together – has “serious concerns” for the welfare of the couple’s two-year-old daughter Nahla when she is under the watch of her father, and is preparing to “seek swift judicial intervention”.

A statement released by Halle’s representative said: “Halle has serious concerns for her daughter’s well-being while in the care of her father for any extended period of time and is prepared to take all necessary steps to protect her
“She has attempted to resolve these custody issues amicably with her daughter’s father, Gabriel Aubry, directly, but given his lack of cooperation, Halle has no choice but to seek swift judicial intervention.”

In order to prepare for the impending custody battle, the 44-year-old star has pulled out of her new movie ‘New Year’s Eve’ – which was due to start shooting this week – and has been replaced by Katherine Heigl.

The statement added: “Halle Berry was forced to pull out of a film production in New York this week due to pending custody litigation involving her daughter.

“Halle has always made the needs and safety of her daughter her first priority and, both while Halle and Gabriel were a couple and since their break-up, Halle has only acted in her daughter’s best interest.”

The Oscar-winning actress – who has a two-year-old girl, Nahla, with former boyfriend Gabriel Aubry – says her priorities have changed since becoming a mother and she is no longer so focused on her career.

Halle said: “Children shift your priorities and now I have a greater purpose for being here. I love making movies but I would give it all up to be with my daughter if I had to because she’s the love of my life. “She’s made me a better person because everything I do and say, everything I want and don’t want, I think first, ‘Will this be best for her?’

“When you have children you get to see things all over again. So I’ve never laughed as hard, I’ve never done more silly things, and I go to great lengths to make her laugh. She’s awakened a childlike side of me.

The 44-year-old beauty – who is currently dating Kylie Minogue’s former boyfriend, actor Oliver Martinez – also admitted Nahla has also influenced her taste in men.

She explained to the Daily Mirror newspaper: “Every choice I make now, and that includes who I choose to spend personal time with as a partner, is not just about me any more, it’s about what’s best for her.”

However the ‘Gothika’ star is happy in her new relationship and revealed things have never been better for her.

She said: “I am just a girl who met a boy; a girl who liked a boy; a boy liked the girl and then that’s what happened.
“I’ve wanted this for so long and I feel happier than ever before.

“I’m happy and fulfilled and I’m in a really good space in my life. I’ve survived many highs and many lows and I think I have it all in perspective now – never get too high and never get too low.”

Halle Berry went public with her romance with Oliver Martinez on Saturday when the new couple walked the red carpet at a charity gala in Hollywood.

The Monster’s Ball beauty held hands with French hunk Martinez as they posed for pictures at the Carousel of Hope event in Beverly Hills, making their first official outing since becoming romantically involved while filming Dark Tide in South Africa over the summer.

An eyewitness tells UsMagazine.com the stars were “inseparable” at the bash, while Unfaithful actor Martinez was “constantly leaning in and whispering in Halle’s ear, making her laugh”.

And the couple appears to be getting serious – Berry reportedly introduced Martinez to her mother, Judith, earlier this month.

Berry split from model Gabriel Aubry, the father of her daughter, in April. Martinez previously dated pop star Kylie Minogue.

When the actress isn’t busy emoting, she works at the Jenesse Center, an LA charity that helps battered women and their children make a fresh start.

At a lunch Sunday at the East Hampton house of Revlon mogul Ronald Perelman, Berry told guests she started to work at the center 13 years ago after she was sentenced to 250 hours of community service for leaving the scene of the accident — even though she had amnesia and needed 17 stitches in her forehead.

“It changed my life. I hadn’t been doing enough. It was time,” Berry told Council Speaker Christine Quinn, Rep. Carolyn Maloney, Tamara Mellon, Amanda Cutter, Dave Zinczenko and Ed Lewis. When Perelman announced Revlon will donate half the $500,000 the center needs for a new facility, Berry ran a lap around the tables and high-fived the crowd.

On newsstands nationwide August 24, the September 2010 issue of VOGUE features Halle Berry on the cover. After a three year silence, the Academy Award-winning actress opens up to writer Jonathan Van Meter about being a mom to two-year-old daughter Nahla and her breakup with Nahla’s father, Gabriel Aubry.

Berry was photographed for the magazine by Mario Testino.

HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE ARTICLE
On her first interview in three years: “I was burned-out with having other people tell the story about me that they wanted to tell. I told my publicist, ‘I’m not going to talk anymore. I’m just going to live my life and be who I am.’”

On being asked to be on the cover of the September issue of Vogue: “What that means for a woman of color and what that means in the fashion world, what that means to pop culture, there was no way I could say, ‘No I’m not going to be on the biggest issue of the year.’”

On the “Oscar curse”: “Everybody talks about the Oscar curse,” she says. “People win Oscars, and then it seems like they fall off the planet. And that’s partly because a huge expectation walks in the room and sits right down on top of your head. The moment I won the Oscar, I felt the teardown the very next day. I thought, If I’m going down, I’m going down taking chances and daring to risk. Hence…Catwoman.”

On her appreciation of the female body: “I love the naked female form…. I just feel like that’s the most empowered position you can be in.”

“That comes with age,” she says. “I’ve been slowly getting there. If the world wouldn’t persecute me, I’d take nude pictures every day of the week.”

On her relationship and breakup with Gabriel Aubry:
“It’s just that you realize you are not meant to go the distance with everybody,” she says. “We were meant to bring this amazing little person into the world. And I think that’s why we came together. And because of that, we are going to be together forever, all three of us. We are a family until we are not here anymore.”

“We have always been friends, we’re still friends, we love each other very much, and we both share the love of our lives. And we are both 100 percent committed to being the best parents we can be. And while it was not a love connection for us, he was absolutely the right person to have this child with because she is going to have an amazing father. And that was really important to me. We’ll make sure we always do what is right for her and put her first. And she will see as she grows that we have a lot of love for each other.”

Check out the full article:
http://www.vogue.com/feature/2010_September_Halle_Berry/